A Dear Clay Fan Passes

I have not posted a lot lately here because I was out of town seeing Clay in concert and then got news that a dear friend of mine who I met via my Clay ventures was dieing. Linda LaPorte had been fighting cancer for quite a while, but we just found out that her cancer was terminal. She passed away peacefully on July 21, 2007.

Maybe some of you know my dear friend. Linda was from Kentucky, and she was apparently a shy lady who did not get out a lot. Then along came Clay and a new group of friends and you couldn't slow her down. Thank God for Clay and all he has given to us, including so many wonderful friends!

Linda traveled to many a concert up north with me and several friends. She decorated her car on trips as "The Claymobile" (not the same one as the red one that was on TV). My favorite thing on the car was written right by my back seat door..."Insert Clay here"! I think its obvious why it was my favorite! What an upbeat lady she was. Always positive and fun loving. She loved Clay so much and all her new found friends. She had a meet and greet scheduled for the upcoming Cary concert where she was to meet Clay for the first time, and she wanted to thank Clay for giving her so many wonderful friends. I wish she had the chance to meet him and say this to him.

I don't know if she knew we were there when we visited her this past week, but we read beautiful notes of love from her home group, The Aiken Breakin' Broads, and I like to think that she heard them as I read them to her.

In Linda's last note to the members of Aiken Breakin' Broads, she called us her "band of angels" and said,

"The main reason I wanted to post was to give a BIG Thank You to my Band of Angels on the Board over the past 6 months. Especially to those who went so out of their way to help me around Christmas and have kept me going with the calls, emails, cards and trinkets. I could feel the effect of the good thoughts and support off of the board and it meant so much to me. I will not be back right away but I do hope to make it someday soon and to a few upcoming concerts to say thank you personally to some of you. In the mean time, to all of my Band of Angels, there is just no way to let you all know how thankful I am! Bless You All!!...Linda"

Its so hard to lose someone you have grown to love. May God hold Linda in His arms as she starts her new life and be with her husband in his great loss.